OPINION, P2 IDEA EXCHANGE MIND & GAMES Black to white magic HOME ALONE, WITH A SPY CAM Hima Das Smart devices make it possible for parents to keep close tabs on their latchkey children, but is it really a good idea? Page 10 ACROSS THE AISLE , P CHIDAMBARAM Vol XVII No 46 ‘Before a race, it’s scary. My heart pounds. All I see are the two white lines and I just run’ Page 4 Follow us on Twitter & Facebook. App available on App Store & Play Store WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM LEISURE SM@RTCOFFEE SPOTLIGHT IN PURSUITOF HAPPINESS FINANCIALEXPRESS ON SUNDAY READ TO LEAD PUBLISHED FROM:AHMEDABAD, BENGALURU, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI, HYDERABAD, KOCHI, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, PUNE Public consultation on FPI norms initiated Amitabh Chaudhry to be MD & CEO of Axis Bank ● To take charge from January 1 for three-year tenure ● Sebi acts on panel’s advice of changes in proposals, more time for compliance PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, September 8 IN RELIEF TO foreign investors Personal happiness has become big business today. From ‘happiness curriculums’ in schools to ‘happiness departments’ in state governments, there’s a huge thrust on the emotion and its attainment. But why are we chasing happiness? And is too much premium being attached to being happy? Page 7 WORDSWORTH MAKING OF AMANUAL An attempt to trace the rise of the RSS sans any critical perspective results in a mere handbook in the form of The RSS: A View to the Inside Page 5 Jack Ma to stay exec chairman ALIBABA GROUP'S FOUNDER Jack Ma CO- ‘Avoid knee-jerk reacn to oil prices’ OIL MINISTER DHARMENDRA Pradhan said on Saturday India as a stable economy should avoid any knee-jerk reaction to volatile crude oil prices, indicating no cut in taxes on fuel despite petrol breaching the `80 per litre level in the capital. Pradhan blamed strengthening of the US dollar, non-fulfilment of commitment made by OPEC countriesregardingadditional oil production and crisis in Iran,Venezuela and Turkey for theriseinpricesofcrudeoil.“As a stable economy,as the fastest growing major economy, let’s notgiveanykneejerkreaction, let’s wait,”he said. —PTI Allowing NRIs, overseas citizens of India and resident Indians to hold noncontrolling stake in FPIs No restriction to manage non-investing FPIs or Sebiregistered offshore funds Doing away with additional KYC documentation requirements for beneficial owners in case of govt- isteredoffshorefunds,asalsoin case of registered investment managers. Thepanelhasalsosuggested that erstwhile PIOs should not be subjected to anyrestrictions, while it has recommended allowing clubbing of investment limits for well-regulated and publicly held FPIs having common control. It has also PRESS TRUST OF INDIA New Delhi, September 8 related FPIs AXIS BANK SAID Saturday All new rules will apply equally to investors using PNotes Amitabh Chaudhry has been appointed its managing directorand CEO from January 1, 2019, for a period of three years. Chaudhry,theMD&CEOof HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company at present, will take charge at India's third-largest private sector bank after incumbent Shikha Sharma steps down on December 31, 2018. "The Board of Directors of the bank, at its meeting held today, has taken on record the approval granted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the appointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as the managing director & CEO of the bank,for a period of three years, with effect from January 1, 2019, up to December 31, 2021, Give 6 months to FPIs for compliance to new rules after they are finalised Non-compliant investors can be given further 180 days to wind down existing positions favoureddoingawaywithadditional KYC requirements for beneficialownersincaseofgovernment-related FPIs.Changes have also been suggested regarding identification of seniormanagingofficialofFPIs and for beneficial owners of listed entities.However,all new rules will apply equally to those investors using P-Notes. The panel has suggested giving six months to FPIs for compliance tonewrules,whilenon-compliant investors can be given further 180 days to wind down their existing positions. The panelisalsoexaminingwhether any recommendation to merge the FPI and NRI/OCI routes of investment can be made to the government and RBI. ❝ I would like to thank the RBI and the Axis Bank Board for the privilege and honour given to me to lead this great institution — AMITABH CHAUDHRY (both days inclusive)," Axis Bank said in a filing to the BSE. Chaudhry, 54, has been associated with HDFC Life since January 2010. "I would like to thank the RBI and the Axis Bank Board for the privilege and honour given to me to lead this great institution,"Chaudhry said. In April, Axis Bank board had curtailed the fourth term ofitsCEOandmanagingdirector Shikha Sharma to seven months following an unusual request from her that she be relieved on December 2018, 29monthsaheadofthescheduled term. In July 2017, the Axis Bank board had approved reappointment of Sharma. Her fourth term as MD & CEO began from June 2018. EPFO likely to be divested of regulatory functions SURYA SARATHI RAY New Delhi, September 8 THEGOVERNMENTIS consider- ing divesting the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)ofitsregulatoryroleand vesting such functions with a separate entity. The idea is to avoid the conflict of interest emanatingfromEPFObeingthe country'slargestprovidentfund provider and also the regulator forsuch entities. As per official sources, the labour ministry has already started working on the proposed bifurcation following a suggestion from the finance ministry. However,anychanges in the existing provisions require Parliament approval. Currently, EPFO acts as an enforcement agency to oversee implementation of Employees ProvidentFund&Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, and as a service provider for around six crore covered beneficiaries throughout the country. Govt mulls vesting such a role with separate entity to avoid conflict of interest Employees earning less than `15,000 per month in firms employing 20 persons or above are now under mandatory EPF cover.The EPFO enjoys punity powersoverthefirmsthatdon’t comply with the Act. Arguing thatEPFO’sdualrolecausesconflictofinterest,thefinanceministrysuggestedthatthebifurcation process should be carried out after identifying and separating the activities those are regulatoryinnatureandthoseof aPFproviderwithintheEPFO. While the provident fund of private establishments,organisations and PSUs largely comes under the EPFO, respective trusts manage the retirement fund for exempted and excluded categories. Organisations underthe exempted cate- gory are allowed to maintain a trust created by that organisation. Under the excluded category, a particular industry’s provident fund is maintained andregulatedbythatparticular ministry.Boththecategoriesare not regulated. The department of financial services also expressed the view that there was a need to regulatetheunregulatedprovident fund trusts,as good governance can optimise pension outcomes for subscribers of a provident fund trust. Government sources said a consensushasbeendevelopedin various government departmentsthatEPFOshouldactasa sole regulator for all provident fund trusts, including those managed by the exempted, excludedandothercategoriesof organisationsorestablishments. In a report submitted to the LokSabha,astandingcommittee felt the need for establishing a regulatory mechanism forvarious PF trusts. Gearing up Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with BJP president Amit Shah, finance minister Arun Jaitley and senior leader LK Advani during the BJP National Executive meeting, in New Delhi on Saturday. AMIT MEHRA Gr Noida intl airport ready to take off With 75% land acquired for the project in Jewar, airport a certainty now DEEPA JAINANI Lucknow, September 8 FOR REPRESENTATIONALPURPOSE will announce a succession plan on Mondayafterheannouncedhis resignation in an interview, reports Reuters. However, he willremainexecutivechairman for the time being. Ma will announce the plan on his 54th birthdayon Monday. Ma,whoco-foundedAlibaba in 1999,stepped down as chief executivein2013.Hecurrently serves as the company's internationalfaceattoppoliticaland business events. The New York Times reported on Friday that Ma would retire from the e-commerce company on Monday as the former English teacher seeks to focus on philanthropy in education. China’s third richest person withanetworthof$36.6billion according to Forbes magazine, MawasquotedbyTheNewYork Times as saying his retirement wasnottheendofanera,butthe beginning of one. —Reuters worried overnewKYC and beneficiary ownership norms, regulator Securities and Exchange BoardofIndia(Sebi)onSaturday initiated a public consultation process for finalising the new guidelinesafterahigh-powered panelsuggestedchangesonseveral contentious proposals and more time forcompliance. The panel headed byformer RBI deputy governor HR Khan has suggested changes on the basis of the inputs from the finance ministry and industry representatives. Releasing the panel'sinterimreportforpublic comments till September 17, Sebi said the committee has suggested allowing NRIs,overseas citizens of India and resident Indians to be allowed to hold non-controlling stake in FPIs and no restriction should beimposedonthemtomanage non-investing FPIs or Sebi-reg- KHAN PANEL INTERIM REPORT ADVOCATES: ❝ ❝ NEW DELHI SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2018 16 Pages, `10 (Patna `11, Raipur `10) Your cup of joe just got a digital twist,with the launch of apps to help coffee farmers stay on top of the game Page 9 JEWAR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, due to come up in Gau- tam Buddha Nagar district, is finallyinching closerto reality as farmers from the region are steadily agreeing to give up their land for the project. So far, as many as 2,335 farmers have consented to give up 916 hectares of land for the proposed greenfield airport. This meets approximately 75% of the land requirement for the first phase. Speaking to FE, an official of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) said it is now certain that the airport would come up in Jewar itself. The total land required for the first phase is 1,334 hectare, of which 116 hectare is government land. For the remaining 1,220 hectare, the district administration,aswell as local MLADhirendra Singh, have been trying hard to con- vince farmers about the importance of the project. “We have finally accomplished the Herculean task of getting consent for the magical figure of 70% land required for the project. Confirmation has come from 2,335 farmers for 912 hectare, which is almost 75% of the total land required for the first phase. We are now sure that Uttar Pradesh would not be left behind in the development race,” said Dhirendra Singh, adding that not only would the airport lift the fortunes of the region, but also act as a catalyst in improving the fortunes of the villagers and farmers of the area. Earlier, the civil aviation department had fixed August 31 as the deadline for seeking consent from farmers, which was laterrevised to September 6. However, till Thursday, the total consents enabled 67% requirement of land,following which the district administration sought more time. As perthe LandAcquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act, 2013, the administration needs to have the consent of at least 70% farmers before it can start acquisition. The government has agreed to pay `2,300 per square metre for landowners; a job at the proposed airport for one member of each family; a residential plot sized 50% of the one they currently own; and double the value of their existing home to carry out construction of a newone. The process of acquiring land from the villagers,which began in May this year, has been fraughtwith difficulties, so much so that even YEIDA officials had started to give up hope, fearing that the project might shift from Uttar Pradesh to neighbouring Rajasthan. The primary bone of contention among the farmers was the fact that the state government had changed the nomenclature of their land from rural to urban, which entitles them to a compensation that is roughly half of what theywould get if the land was classified as rural. QuickPicks China’s record trade surplus with US adds fuel to trade war China’s trade surplus with the United States widened to a record in August even as the country’s export growth slowed slightly, an outcome that could push President Donald Trump to turn up the heat on Beijing in their cantankerous trade dispute, reorts Reuters. The politically sensitive surplus hit $31.05 billion in August, up from $28.09 billion in July, customs data showed on Saturday, surpassing the previous record set in June. The politically sensitive surplus hit $31.05 billion in August, up from $28.09 billion in July, customs data showed on Saturday, surpassing the previous record set in June. Over the first eight months of the year, China’s surplus with its largest export market has risen nearly 15%, adding to tensions in the trade relationship between the world’s two largest economies. ODD & EVEN ROHNIT PHORE

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